[1] Often referred to as The Rock, the small island early-on served as a lighthouse, a military fortification, a military prison, and a Federal Bureau of Prisons federal prison until 1963.[2] Later, in 1972, Alcatraz became a national recreation area and received landmarking designations in 1976 and 1986.

.In 2008 the nation's first hybrid propulsion ferry started serving the island.^The revenue from these tourists is shared between the ferry companies that bring people to the island and the National Park Service, which manages the island.

^The dormitories will be built in future years into the cold, gray Barracks Building, which is the island’s largest building and the first structure visitors encounter when they reach the island by ferry.

[3].Alcatraz has been featured in many movies, TV shows, cartoons, books, comics, and games.^Alcatraz Island tours are a favorite of San Francisco visitors because of the island's colorful history and the many books and movies and TV shows that featured the famous island prison.

History

The lighthouse on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay

.The first Spaniard to document the island was Juan Manuel de Ayala in 1775, who charted San Francisco Bay and named the island "La Isla de los Alcatraces," which translates as "The Island of the Pelicans,"[4][5][6][7][8][9] from the archaic Spanish alcatraz, "pelican", a word which was borrowed originally from Arabic: القطرس al-qaṭrās, meaning sea eagle.^Alcatraz is an island in the San Francisco Bay, in the midst of fog and ocean air!

Military history

A model of Military Point Alcatraz, 1866–1868, now on display on Alcatraz Island

Alcatraz Island, 1895

.The earliest recorded owner of the island of Alcatraz is one Julian Workman, to whom it was given by Mexican governor Pio Pico in June 1846 with the understanding that the former would build a lighthouse on it.^View of lighthouse and buildings of old prison on Alcatraz Island ...

.Julian Workman is the baptismal name of William Workman, co-owner of Rancho La Puente and personal friend of Pio Pico.^The island was all but forgotten until June 1846, when the governor of California granted ownership of the island to a man named Julian Workman.

.Later in 1846, acting in his capacity as Military Governor of California, John C. Fremont, champion of Manifest Destiny and leader of the Bear Flag Republic, bought the island for $5000 in the name of the United States government from Francis Temple.^Later that year, John C Fremont, a leader of the Bear Flag Revolt that freed California from Mexico, purchased the island for only 5,000 dollars under the name of the United States Government.

[12][13][14].In 1850, President Millard Fillmore ordered that Alcatraz Island be set aside specifically for military purposes based upon the U.S. acquisition of California from Mexico following the Mexican-American War.^In 1850, a presidential order set aside the island for possible use as a United States military reservation.

[15].Fremont had expected a large compensation for his initiative in purchasing and securing Alcatraz Island for the U.S. government, but the U.S. government later invalidated the sale and paid Fremont nothing.^However, this ended in 1779 when the island was purchased by the British government from a local landowner.

.Fremont and his heirs sued for compensation during protracted but unsuccessful legal battles that extended into the 1890s.^After a legal battle, the US Government acquired the island from Fremont, as he had used the name of the United States Government in buying it.

.Following the acquisition of California by the United States as a result of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) which ended the Mexican-American War, and the onset of the California Gold Rush the following year, the U.S. Army began studying the suitability of Alcatraz Island for the positioning of coastal batteries to protect the approaches to San Francisco Bay.^Its position in the San Francisco bay has given it great historical importance.

.In 1853, under the direction of Zealous B. Tower, the Corps of Engineers began fortifying the island, work which continued until 1858, eventuating in Fortress Alcatraz.^As soon as Alcatraz was handed over work began.

^A part of the area's defensive system, along with Lime Point Military Reservation , intended to guard the entrance to the bay, its first fortifications were begun in 1853 under the direction of Lieutenant Zealous Bates Tower, U.S. Corps of Engineers, and consisted in the main of a brick 200 by 100 foot citadel , batteries, two barrack structures for troops, and three cell blocks First garrisoned on December 30, 1859, the post was officially designated Alcatraz Island hot was often referred to as Fort Alcatraz.

.When the American Civil War broke out in 1861 the island mounted 85 cannons (increased to 105 cannons by 1866) in case mates around its perimeter, though the small size of the garrison meant only a fraction of the guns could be used at one time.^By 1861 the fort had 85 cannon and a garrison of 130 men.

.At this time it also served as the San Francisco Arsenal for storage of firearms to prevent them falling into the hands of Southern sympathizers.^The next day, his grandfather, who is always running late, shows up to keep Alcatraz’ inheritance from falling into the hands of the evil librarians.

[16].Alcatraz never fired its guns offensively, though during the war it was used to imprison Confederate sympathizers and privateers on the west coast.^Alcatraz was first used as a prison during the Civil War.

^After the Civil War, confederate sympathizers caught celebrating the death of President Lincoln were sent to Alcatraz. In 1868, the Army designated Alcatraz Island as a prison for military convicts and malcontents of society.

Military prison

Due to its isolation from the outside by the cold, strong, hazardous currents of the waters of San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz was used to house Civil War prisoners as early as 1861.

.Following the war in 1866 the army determined that the fortifications and guns were being rapidly rendered obsolete by advances in military technology.^It was not until the 1850s, following the Gold Rush, that the US Army was spurred to construct a military base and the first lighthouse on the West Coast on Alcatraz.

.Modernization efforts, including an ambitious plan to level the entire island and construct shell-proof underground magazines and tunnels, were undertaken between 1870 and 1876 but never completed (the so called "parade ground" on the southern tip of the island represents the extent of the flattening effort).^In 1853, construction began on Fortress Alcatraz, which was built atop the sandstone island, and Fort Point, a traditional casemate fort built at water level after massive excavation of the bluff.

[18].Instead the army switched the focus of its plans for Alcatraz from coastal defense to detention, a task for which it was well suited because of its isolation.^Because of its natural isolation, surrounded by freezing waters and hazardous currents, Alcatraz would soon be considered by the U.S. Army as an ideal location for holding captives.

The History of Alcatraz Island 10 February 2010 11:011 UTCwww.alcatrazhistory.com [Source type: FILTERED WITH BAYES]

^The task was part of an effort to create a 20-year master plan for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which includes Alcatraz Island and some other Bay Area coastal regions.

.In 1867 a brick jailhouse was built (previously inmates had been kept in the basement of the guardhouse), and in 1868 Alcatraz was officially designated a long-term detention facility for military prisoners.^Alcatraz was designated as the official military prison for the entire Department of the Pacific.

.Among those incarcerated at Alcatraz were some HopiNative American men in the 1870s.^Long before Alcatraz became home to some of the most notorious outlaws in the country, it was known as a place to be avoided by Native Americans who believed it to contain evil spirits.

The Long History of Alcatraz Island, California10 February 2010 11:011 UTCwww.legendsofamerica.com [Source type: FILTERED WITH BAYES]

^In 1895 nineteen Hopi were incarcerated on Alcatraz Island by the US Army for their resistance to government policies designed to destroy their religion and language.

^In 1969, the island again made news when a group of Native American Indians claimed Alcatraz as Indian land with the hope of creating a Native American cultural center and education complex on the island.

.In 1898, the Spanish-American war would increase the prison population from 26 to over 450. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, civilian prisoners were transferred to Alcatraz for safe confinement.^Earthquake hits San Francisco, municipal prison damaged, prisoners transferred to Alcatraz.

.By 1912 there was a large cell house, and in the 1920s a large 3-story structure was nearly at full capacity.^By 1912 a large cellhouse had been constructed on the island's central crest, and by the late 1920's, the three-story structure was nearly at full capacity.

The History of Alcatraz Island 10 February 2010 11:011 UTCwww.alcatrazhistory.com [Source type: FILTERED WITH BAYES]

^The distance from the dock to the cell house at the top of the island is about 1/4 mile, the elevation change is 130 feet (equivalent to a thirteen story climb).

[20].On March 21, 1907, Alcatraz was officially designated as the Western U.S. Military Prison, later Pacific Branch, U.S. Disciplinary Barracks, 1915.[21] In 1909 construction began on the huge concrete main cell block, designed by Major Reuben Turner, which remains the island's dominant feature.^In 1909, workers began to construct several new buildings on the island, including the main cell block, which remains standing today.

.It was completed in 1912. To accommodate the new cell block, the Citadel, a three-story barracks, was demolished down to the first floor, which was actually below ground level.^Each cell block was three tiers high.

^Inmates with first or second class rankings were allowed to go anywhere about the prison grounds, except for the guards quarters on the upper levels.

The History of Alcatraz Island 10 February 2010 11:011 UTCwww.alcatrazhistory.com [Source type: FILTERED WITH BAYES]

.The building had been constructed in an excavated pit (creating a dry "moat") to enhance its defensive potential.^The only access to the citadel was a drawbridge over a deep dry moat that surrounded the entire building.

The Long History of Alcatraz Island, California10 February 2010 11:011 UTCwww.legendsofamerica.com [Source type: FILTERED WITH BAYES]

^Soldiers entered the citadel by crossing a drawbridge over a deep dry moat that surrounded the building.

.The Fortress was deactivated as a military prison in October 1933, and transferred to the Bureau of Prisons.^When the army left the island in 1933, they turned over their 32 worst prisoners to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons.

.During World War I the prison held conscientious objectors, including Philip Grosser, who wrote a pamphlet entitled 'Uncle Sam's Devil's Island' about his experiences.^Alexander Berkman "Alcatraz – Uncle Sam's Devil's Island : Experiences of a Conscientious Objector in America during the First World War" by Philip Grosser ISBN-13: 9781873605240 ISBN-10: 1873605242 32 page pamphlet with portrait.

^Alcatraz mostly held American convicts with a few exceptions including Alvin “Creep” Karpis, brought in by the FBI, a Canadian who did crime in the US. There was a Japanese American, Tomoya Kawakita, who was incarcerated for treason during World War II (he was caught in Japan when the war broke out and became an interpreter for the Japanese Army in POW camps where he was abusive of American prisoners.

^At the same time the Bureau of Prisons systematized the federal prison system and streamlined the creation of what were to be super-prisons to house the nation’s super criminals and the foremost of these was Alcatraz.

Escape attempts

Chiseled cell air vent in Alcatraz

View of San Francisco from Alcatraz Island

.During its 29 years of operation, the penitentiary claimed no prisoners had ever successfully escaped.^During the 29 years it was in use, the jail held such notable criminals as Al Capone who did time for tax evasion.

.36 prisoners were involved in 14 attempts, two men trying twice; 23 were caught, six were shot and killed during their escape, and three were lost at sea and never found.^During Alcatraz's tenure as a prison, 36 men attempted to escape, most failing miserably.

[24].The most violent occurred on May 2, 1946 when a failed escape attempt by six prisoners led to the so-called Battle of Alcatraz.^During Alcatraz's tenure as a prison, 36 men attempted to escape, most failing miserably.

.Behind the prisoners' cells in Cell Block B (where the escapees were interned) was an unguarded 3-foot (0.91 m) wide utility corridor.^Here is a picture of the utility corridor that was behind all prison cells at Alcatraz.

.The prisoners chiseled away the moisture-damaged concrete from around an air vent leading to this corridor, using tools such as a metal spoon soldered with silver from a dime and an electric drill improvised from a stolen vacuum cleaner motor.^They used resourceful invented tools, such as an extra motor from a prison vacuum-cleaner and a chisel created from a spoon reinforced with the metal of a coin.

.The noise was disguised by accordions played during music hour, and their progress was concealed by false walls which, in the dark recesses of the cells, fooled the guards.^Work was done during music hour, under the drone of accordion s.

^Brothers Clarence and John Anglin They worked on the holes only during music hour so that the noise would not be obvious, and concealed their work behind rudimentary false walls; in the relative darkness of the cells, this was enough to deceive the prison guards.

.The escape route then led up through a fan vent; the fan and motor had been removed and replaced with a steel grille, leaving a shaft large enough for a prisoner to climb through.^"That's a fairly large hole to climb through.

^On the night of their escape, they left fake heads in their cots - going so far as to cover them with hair from the prison barber shop - and climbed through the enlarged vents, ultimately reaching the roof.

.Stealing a carborundum cord from the prison workshop, the prisoners had removed the rivets from the grille and substituted dummy rivets made of soap.^In their path, they left false walls and attachments (rivets made of soap is almost cartoonish, but true).

.The escapees also constructed an inflatable raft from several stolen raincoats for the trip to the mainland.^In 1962, the Anglin brothers led the most famous escape from the island, using inflated stolen raincoats.

.The official investigation by the FBI was aided by another prisoner, Allen West, who also was part of the escapees' group but was left behind (West's false wall kept slipping so he held it into place with cement, which set; when the Anglin brothers (John & Clarence) accelerated the schedule, West desperately chipped away at the wall, but by the time he did his companions were gone).^He was not alone in his attempt; there were three others John Anglin, his brother Clarence Anglin, and Allen West(who never went through with the escape attempt).

.Articles belonging to the prisoners (including plywood paddles and parts of the raincoat raft) were located on nearby Angel Island, and the official report on the escape says the prisoners drowned while trying to reach the mainland in the cold waters of the bay.^There was also an unconfirmed report of a raft on the island.

.The MythBusters investigated the myth, concluding such an escape was plausible.^Eventually, after a long and thorough investigation, it was concluded that the inmates died that day in the water, but the thought that Alcatraz was escape proof was forever tarnished.

Notable inmates

.Robert Stroud, who was better known to the public as the "Birdman of Alcatraz," was transferred to Alcatraz in 1942. He spent the next seventeen years on "the Rock" — six years in segregation in D Block, and eleven years in the prison hospital.^He checks the crumbling medical ward where Robert Stroud, "the Birdman of Alcatraz," spent 17 years.

^Alcatraz where he spent 6 of his 17 years in solitary confinement and 11 years in the hospital.

Alcatraz The famous Prison10 February 2010 11:011 UTCwww.protopage.com [Source type: FILTERED WITH BAYES]

.In 1959 he was transferred to the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri (MCFP Springfield).^He was then transferred to the new Federal prison at Terminal Island near Los Angeles.

.Although called "The Birdman of Alcatraz," Stroud was not allowed to keep birds while incarcerated there.^Interesting tidbit: Robert Stroud, the “ Birdman of Alcatraz ” didn’t have keep birds at Alcatraz.

How to Change the World: Tour of Alcatraz Island10 February 2010 11:011 UTCblog.guykawasaki.com [Source type: General]

^Among the famous gangsters who occupied cell blocks A through D were Al Capone, Robert Stroud, the so-called Birdman of Alcatraz (because he was an expert in ornithological diseases), Machine Gun Kelly, and Alvin Karpis.

.When Al Capone arrived on Alcatraz in 1934, prison officials made it clear that he would not be receiving any preferential treatment.^AL CAPONE: ALCATRAZ’S MOST INFAMOUS PRISONER When Al Capone arrived on Alcatraz in 1934 prison officials made it clear that he would not be receiving any preferential treatment.

.While serving his time in Atlanta, Capone, a master manipulator, had continued running his rackets from behind bars by buying off guards.^While serving his time in Atlanta, Capone, a master manipulator, had continued running his rackets from behind bars by buying off guards.

."Big Al" generated incredible media attention while on Alcatraz though he served just four and a half years of his sentence there before developing symptoms of tertiary syphilis and being transferred to the Federal Correctional Institution at Terminal Island in Los Angeles.^He was then transferred to the new Federal prison at Terminal Island near Los Angeles.

^Big Al” generated incredible media attention while on Alcatraz though he served just four and a half years of his sentence there before developing symptoms of syphilis and being transferred to a prison in Southern California where he died.

.George "Machine Gun" Kelly arrived on September 4, 1934. At Alcatraz, Kelly was constantly boasting about several robberies and murders that he had never committed.^George Kelly was called Machine Gun Kelly for his amazing machine gunning skills.

Alcatraz The famous Prison10 February 2010 11:011 UTCwww.protopage.com [Source type: FILTERED WITH BAYES]

.Although this was said to be an apparent point of frustration for several fellow prisoners, Warden Johnson considered him a model inmate.^Warden Johnson and several inmates were subpoenaed to testify on prison conditions and procedures.

^Alcatraz: Encyclopedia II - Alvin Karpis - Stay at Alcatraz Sentenced to life imprisonment, Karpis was incarcerated at the recently formed Alcatraz federal penitentiary from August 1936 to April 1962.

.While there, he became close to Clarence Carnes, also known as the Choctaw Kid.^And Clarence Carnes, the only active participant to survive the 1946 "Battle of Alcatraz" blastout attempt, remained there from 1945 until January, 1963, just a few months before the prison closed.

Alcatraz: A Most Merry and Illustrated History10 February 2010 11:011 UTCwww.coopertoons.com [Source type: Original source]

^While there were a few successful escapes from Alcatraz during its years as a military prison, once it became a federal penitentiary, there were no known successful escapes.

GCF7A2 Escape From Alcatraz (Virtual Cache) in California, United States created by Jbond 10 February 2010 11:011 UTCwww.geocaching.com [Source type: General]

.By decision of Attorney GeneralRobert F. Kennedy, the penitentiary was closed on March 21, 1963. It was closed because it was far more expensive to operate than other prisons (nearly $10 per prisoner per day, as opposed to $3 per prisoner per day at Atlanta),[28] half a century of salt water saturation had severely eroded the buildings, and the bay was being badly polluted by the sewage from the approximately 250 inmates and 60 Bureau of Prisons families on the island.^By order of Attorney General Robert Kennedy (under the John F Kennedy administration) it was shut down officially on 21 March, 1963.

Native American occupation

A lingering sign of the 1969-71 Native American occupation (2006 Photograph).

.Beginning on November 20, 1969, a group of Native Americans from many different tribes (many individual Native Americans relocated to the Bay Area under the Federal Indian Reorganization Act of 1934), occupied the island, and proposed an education center, ecology center and cultural center.^In 1969, a group of Native Americans chartered a boat to the island to symbolically reclaim the island for the Indian people.

.According to the occupants, the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868) between the U.S. and the Sioux returned all retired, abandoned or out-of-use federal land to the Native people from whom it was acquired.^Natives landed to reclaim the island under a loose interpretation of a treaty that dictated the return of unused federal land to the Natives from whom it was acquired.

.In fact, the Sioux Treaty of 1868 stated that all abandoned or unused federal land adjacent to the Sioux Reservation could be reclaimed by descendant of the Sioux Nation.^The treaty of 1868 was between the United States and .

.For that reason, the group Indians of All Tribes abandoned the Sioux treaty as the basis of their occupation and claimed Alcatraz Island by Right of Discovery.^They claimed it in the name of "Indians of All Tribes."

.The Native Americans demanded reparation of the broken treaties and for the land that was taken away from them.^The landing party -- calling itself Indians of All Tribes -- was led by Richard Oakes, a Native American and student at what was then San Francisco State College.

.Historian Troy R. Johnson states in The Occupation of Alcatraz Island, that Indian people have known about Alcatraz 10,000 to 20,000 years before any European knew a thing about the land.^About Alcatraz Island elsewhere .

.During 1895, one of the largest Indian groups being held as military prisoners, were the Moqui Hopi.^First a military fortress, then more famously a prison, then the site of an Indian reclaimation and occupation.

.The Hopi refused to agree on a policy the U.S. government offered, opting for them to send their children to U.S. school, deteriorating their culture and forced assimilation.^These Hopi village leaders were involved in land disputes with the government, and they refused to comply with a mandatory government education program for their children.

^The Hopis were released after they pledged to "cease interference with the plans of the government for the civilization and education of its Indian wards," although they continued their resistance of government policies after returning to Arizona.

.The point of the policy was to break any relations the Indians may have had with the U.S. government.^Shortly thereafter, the official government policy of termination of Indian tribes was ended and a policy of Indian self-determination became the official US government policy.

Alcatraz Tours - Get on The Rock - Do not wait in line - Great Rates -Book Online10 February 2010 11:011 UTCwww.buysanfranciscotours.com [Source type: General]

^The Hopis were released after they pledged to "cease interference with the plans of the government for the civilization and education of its Indian wards," although they continued their resistance of government policies after returning to Arizona.

.During the nineteen months and nine days of occupation, several buildings were damaged or destroyed by fires, including the recreation hall, the Coast Guard quarters and the Warden's home.^During Indian occupation, fire destroys Wardens house, officers club and damages historic lighthouse.

The origins of the fires are unknown. .A number of other buildings (mostly apartments) were destroyed by the U.S. Government after the occupation had ended.^Because the buildings were far apart from each other, occupiers concluded that government agents had set the fires to discredit the occupation.

Alcatraz: Occupation by The American Indian Movement (AIM)10 February 2010 11:011 UTCsiouxme.com [Source type: Original source]

The Native Press - Continuing the Oral Storytelling Tradition in the 21st Century Online!10 February 2010 11:011 UTCwww.thenativepress.com [Source type: Original source]

^It isn't clear who was to blame, but since the buildings were not next to each other, the Indians reasoned it was deliberate and started by government agents.

.Graffiti from the period of Native American occupation are still visible at many locations on the island.^Many 'troublesome Native Americans' were also allowed to be imprisoned in the island's facilities.

.During the occupation, the Indian termination policy, designed to end federal recognition of tribes, was rescinded by President Richard Nixon, and the new policy of self-determination was established, in part as a result of the publicity and awareness created by the occupiers.^Shortly thereafter, the official government policy of termination of Indian tribes was ended and a policy of Indian self-determination became the official US government policy.

Alcatraz Tours - Get on The Rock - Do not wait in line - Great Rates -Book Online10 February 2010 11:011 UTCwww.buysanfranciscotours.com [Source type: General]

.Alcatraz would eventually result in the Trail of Broken Treaties and would influence the Longest Walk in 1985. The occupation of Alcatraz is assumed to have played a huge role for Native Americans and is defined as a key movement, fighting for what some felt was rightfully theirs.^The Military found that, because of its complete isolation from the mainland, Alcatraz would be a good prison, and in August, 1861, some Civil War military prisoners were sent to the island.

.The U.S. government returned land to the Taos, Yakima, Navajo and Washoe tribes following a succession of demands at Alcatraz.^Mount Adams was returned to the Yakama Nation in Washington state, and 48,000 acres of the Sacred Blue Lake lands were returned to Taos Pueblo in New Mexico.

Alcatraz: Occupation by The American Indian Movement (AIM)10 February 2010 11:011 UTCsiouxme.com [Source type: Original source]

^To reach Hornblower Alcatraz Landing from the south, take Highway 101 North and follow the signs towards the Bay Bridge.

Landmarking and development

A guard tower on Alcatraz Island.^Isolation, one of the constants of island life for any inhabitant - soldier, guard, prisoner, bird or plant - is a recurrent theme in the unfolding history of Alcatraz.

.Today American Indian groups, the International Indian Treaty Council, for example, hold ceremonies on the island.^On March 8, 1964, a small group of Sioux attempted to take the island, invoking the Treaty of Fort Laramie.

The Native Press - Continuing the Oral Storytelling Tradition in the 21st Century Online!10 February 2010 11:011 UTCwww.thenativepress.com [Source type: Original source]

^On March 8, 1964, a small group of Sioux attempted to take the island, invoking the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie.

Alcatraz: Occupation by The American Indian Movement (AIM)10 February 2010 11:011 UTCsiouxme.com [Source type: Original source]

^Historians and other experts say the occupation -- though chaotic and laced with tragedy --improved conditions for the 2 million American Indians and Alaska Natives alive today.

The Native Press - Continuing the Oral Storytelling Tradition in the 21st Century Online!10 February 2010 11:011 UTCwww.thenativepress.com [Source type: Original source]

.The most notable of these are on Columbus Day and Thanksgiving Day when they hold a "Sunrise Gathering."^This was all happening in these days prior to Thanksgiving [1969 -- the day I arrived on Alcatraz].

Reviews for The San Francisco Waterfront Segway Tour Combined with The Alctraz Ferry and Tour - 2 great Activities10 February 2010 11:011 UTCwww.sfelectrictour.com [Source type: General]

^Alcatraz Cruises" has several tour options which seems to be enhanced since we visited in 2000 (this may be due to the different company now running the ferries/tours or to the National Park Service itself).

.Because Hornblower does not employ union labor, there were protests, but they have ceased.^I am putting this out there because others have been saying the same thing and the opportunists should know that they don't fool all of us.

Proposed peace center

Artist's concept of the proposed Alcatraz

.The Global Peace Foundation proposed to raze the prison and build a peace center in its place.^A large building called the Citadel was erected to house the troops stationed there -- the prison at Alcatraz would later be built on the Citadel's foundations.

^Prior to D Block's construction, troublesome prisoners were sent to "the dungeon," a series of old cells in the basement, left over from the original building upon whose foundation the prison was built.

.During the previous year, supporters collected 10,350 signatures that placed it on the presidential primary ballots in San Francisco for February 5, 2008.[34] The proposed plan was estimated at $1 billion.^She also admired and supported San Francisco's firemen.

Tide pools. A series of them, created by long-ago quarrying activities, contains still-unidentified invertebrate species and marine algae..September 2008" style="white-space:nowrap;">[citation needed] They form one of the few tide-pool complexes in the Bay, according to the report.

Western cliffs and cliff tops.^They would just stretch blankets over the top cell fronts and everyone would be happy - especially them since no one could see them make the rafts.

Alcatraz: A Most Merry and Illustrated History10 February 2010 11:011 UTCwww.coopertoons.com [Source type: Original source]

^Starting form a distance, the boats would circle, coming closer on each loop until they came within a few yards of the Rock.

Alcatraz: A Most Merry and Illustrated History10 February 2010 11:011 UTCwww.coopertoons.com [Source type: Original source]

.Rising to heights of nearly 100 feet (30 m), they provide nesting and roosting sites for sea birds including pigeon guillemots, cormorants, Heermann's Gulls and Western Gulls.^They miraculously escaped grave injury in the bare-footed plunge of some 30 feet down a sheer cliff to the rock-strewn shore.

The Agave Path, a trail named for its dense growth of agave.^The trail (open from late September to mid-February) begins near the ferryboat landing on the east side of the island and winds through a protected bird sanctuary to a stone stairway where prison guards’ houses once stood.

The Native Press - Continuing the Oral Storytelling Tradition in the 21st Century Online!10 February 2010 11:011 UTCwww.thenativepress.com [Source type: Original source]

^They named him Wovoka, after the 19th-century Paiute who introduced the Ghost Dance and the prophecy that North America would be returned to Indians.

Alcatraz: Occupation by The American Indian Movement (AIM)10 February 2010 11:011 UTCsiouxme.com [Source type: Original source]

Located atop a shoreline bulkhead on the south side, it provides a nesting habitat for night herons.

Alcatraz prison and its surroundings.

Flora

Flowers on Alcatraz. In the background a watch tower.

.Gardens planted by families of the original Army post, and later by families of the prison guards, fell into neglect after the prison closure in 1963. After 40 years they are being restored by a paid staff member and many volunteers, thanks to funding by the Garden Conservancy and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy.^He had spent nearly 40 years in prison.

The untended gardens had become severely overgrown and had developed into a nesting habitat and sanctuary for numerous birds. .Now, areas of bird habitat are being preserved and protected, while many of the gardens are being fully restored to their original glory.^The Hilton Garden Inn San Francisco Airport North hotel is located in California*s South San Francisco an area that many Biotech Companies call home.

.In clearing out the overgrowth, many of the original plants were discovered to still be growing where they had been planted - some over 100 years ago.^(I read, some years ago, that the state was letting people stay overnight in that prison - with special permission.

^So Allen figured they needed some way to make it look like they were still in the cell while they were really happily swimming away to freedom.

Alcatraz: A Most Merry and Illustrated History10 February 2010 11:011 UTCwww.coopertoons.com [Source type: Original source]

Numerous heirloom rose hybrids, including a Welsh rose that had been believed to be extinct, have been discovered and propagated. Many species of roses, succulents, and geraniums are to be found growing among apple and fig trees, banks of sweet peas, manicured gardens of cutting flowers, and wildly overgrown sections of native grasses with blackberry and honeysuckle.

Hauntings

.Some visitors to the island claim to have heard men screaming, whistling, orbs, and doors clanging in the prison.^Their screams could not be heard in the main prison.

^Some reformers claim it is really a place to get rid of the prison dissenters and jailhouse lawyers who fight for prisoners' rights.

Alcatraz: A Most Merry and Illustrated History10 February 2010 11:011 UTCwww.coopertoons.com [Source type: Original source]

[37].As is likely with many prisons, deaths occurred in Alcatraz, and some believe that those who died in the prison haunt the island.^"Those who violate the laws of society go to prison, those who violate the laws of prison go to Alcatraz."

^For those who want to get a closer look at Alcatraz without going ashore, two boat-tour operators offer short circumnavigations of the island.

Alcatraz Island - Reviews and Ratings of Sights in San Francisco - New York Times Travel10 February 2010 11:011 UTCtravel.nytimes.com [Source type: General]

.Many guards and police officers reported to have seen or heard ghostly apparitions while guarding the building.^They freed Captain Madigan, because it would be time for the officers to call the Administration building, or else the other guards would become suspicious.

[38].There is also a report of banjo music in the shower.^According to one park ranger, he was in one of the cell houses one morning, near the shower room, and heard the distinctive sound of banjo music coming from the room.

.Witnesses say this could be tied to the famous Gangster Al Capone.^Among the famous gangsters who occupied cell blocks A through D were Al Capone, Robert Stroud, the so-called Birdman of Alcatraz (because he was an expert in ornithological diseases), Machine Gun Kelly, and Alvin Karpis.

Alcatraz Island - Reviews and Ratings of Sights in San Francisco - New York Times Travel10 February 2010 11:011 UTCtravel.nytimes.com [Source type: General]

^Al Capone , or 'Scarface' was possibly the most famous and notorious gangster of the Prohibition Era.

.A 2009 episode of The Othersiders visits Alcatraz Prison.^The book contains the history of Alcatraz Island, the operation of the prison, memories of growing up on Alcatraz, a final visit, stories of the Rock, and a multitude of historic photographs.

^ "The most painful story of resistance to assimilation programs and compulsory school attendance laws involved the Hopis in Arizona, who surrendered a group of men to the military rather than voluntarily relinquish their children. The Hopi men served time in federal prison at Alcatraz". Child, Brenda J. (February 2000). Boarding School Seasons: American Indian Families, 1900-1940. University of Nebraska Press. p. 13. ISBN 0-8032-6405-4.

Alcatraz Island (sometimes just called Alcatraz or The Rock). is a small island in San Francisco Bay in California. It was first a lighthouse, then a military fort, then a military prison followed by a federal prison. In 1963, it became a museum. The name Alcatraz is the English version of the Spanish word "Alcatraces" meaning "pelican". It was given the name pelican when a Spanish explorer, John Manuel de Ayala, noticed the great amount of pelicans roosting on the island.
Alcatraz Island is one of many islands in the San Francisco Bay area.